Climate Action Plan Draft Report
September 22, 2017
Dear Friends,
Last October I wrote you announcing the establishment of the Climate Action Plan Task Force. During the last year, the Task Force, led by Anthony Janetos, Frederick S. Pardee Professor of Earth & Environment and Director of the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, has worked to fulfill its charge, which was to develop a Climate Action Plan in accord with the following five guidelines.
- Propose ways to operationally mitigate the University’s impact on global warming by decreasing our direct emissions and lowering our energy use, as well as ways we should prepare our campuses for the impacts of climate change.
- Make recommendations for our role in research—both disciplinary and interdisciplinary—that are relevant to lowering greenhouse gas emissions, lowering energy demand, and developing resilient cities and campuses.
- Make recommendations for educational programs that prepare all our students, but especially our undergraduates, to face the challenges of climate change as educated citizens of the world.
- Embed these recommendations in the context of analysis of their medium- and long-term financial implications to the University.
- Engage the entire Boston University community of faculty, staff, and students in the preparation of the Climate Action Plan and reach out to other institutions and the City of Boston to explore shared solutions that will benefit the broader community.
The Task Force’s Draft Report is now available. Although the recommendations for BU’s Climate Action Plan are presented by the Task Force, they also reflect the contributions of many other people who have been very generous with their time, knowledge, and ideas, including additional members of the faculty, staff, and students, both through email exchanges and from dialogues at the public events that have been sponsored by the Task Force over the past nine months.
The Draft Report of the Task Force is being submitted to the community for further comment. Input can be sent to the Task Force through its website, directly as emails to the members, or through discussion at events planned throughout the fall semester. One event to note in particular is a public forum at 7 pm on October 24, in the Photonics building, when the Task Force members will present their recommendations and encourage questions and discussion. The Task Force will consider all comments received through the end of October.
The final Task Force Report will be discussed by our Board of Trustees with the hope of incorporating its recommendations in the strategic planning for the University, as our commitment to helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change on our campus community. The Report’s recommendations have substantial implications for operational and financial planning in the decades ahead. I hope you will read this important report from your colleagues and participate in the public discussions of it.
Sincerely,
Robert A. Brown
President